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Sheer Khorma

MY Sheer Khorma Recipe

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My mom makes the best Sheer Khorma says every freaking Hyderabadi, but, people lie. I’m not going to lie to you, rather, I promise you my mom seriously makes the best Hyderabadi Sheer khorma.

The secret is: the portion of milk & sewiyan!!!  A lot of people add very little quantity of seviyan with too much of milk which takes like nothing but sweet milk garished with seviyan. Think of it like Mutton without Mutton biryani. Similarly, a lot of people add condensed milk or Khoya & excessive dry fruits. We personally do not prefer adding any of this, however, we generally garnish the serving bowl with dry fruits.

Ok so, here is the recipe !! 🙂

Step 1: Preparing dry fruits.

  1. Take handful of cashews, dates, pistachios (separately, of course) & finely chop them
  2. In a separate bowl, take handful of almonds, soak them for about an hour or boil them for 10 minutes.
  3. Peel the almonds & chop into thin slices.
  4. Take 4 table spoon add ghee, add dry fruits, mix well & let it cook until they turn light brown.
  5. Remove the dry fruits from the pan & set aside.

Step 2: Preparing the seviyan:

  1. Take superfine/ thin vermicelli aka Seviyan & crush it into small pieces.
  2. In the leftover ghee from step 1, add approx 50-60 grams of seviyan (4-5 handful)
  3. Mix well until the seviyan turns brown in color.
  4. Remove them from the pan & keep it aside.

Step 3: 

  1. Take 2 litres of milk (please get whole milk, no fat free business here)
  2. Boil it until it reduces its quantity to 3/4th (keep stirring)
  3. add 1 tea cup of sugar (approx 110 – 120 grams) & mix well, let it cook for sometime
  4. add Seviyan from step 2 here
  5. mix well & let it cook on high flame for 2 minutes & low flame for about 5 minutes.
  6. Your thick sheer khorma is ready, add it to the big serving bowl & garnish with dry fruits.

P.S. if you think the consistency is too thick for you, you can add some milk later, no worries!

TIP:

We generally shop for seviyan from local store, its hand made & also super thin. Please do not use thick vermicelli or noodles!!!! It’s just horribly wrong.

I was able to find something for you on amazon similar to what I use.

Seviyan link for your reference: here 

I hope you enjoy our recipe ! Please let us know your thoughts via comments below!!!

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My Mint Tea

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“We are like Tea, we don’t know our own Strength until we’re in Hot Water”
-Sister Busche

They say we are what we eat & the above quote from Sister Busche is something I would love to share with you today! If we are like tea, let’s be the best damn tea & brighten people’s life. 

I’m glad you loved the ginger tea, today I’m going to share my fav mint tea recipe. It’s super easy but watch out for the little things 🙂 

  1. In a pan, add 500 ml water & medium sized bunch of mint leaves (make sure you wash & chop your leaves)
  2. Let it cook till the water turns green
  3. Add 1/2 tsp of black tea powder and literally count till 15 and close the stove (this is very important! You don’t want to cook the chai powder, you only add it for flavor)
  4. Cover it with a lid and let it sit for about a minute
  5. Meanwhile, in a cup add 2 pinches salt, half tsp lemon juice and sugar as per taste (healthy option switch sugar with 3 tsp honey )
  6. Strain it in the cup (I love how the colour changes, thanks to the lemon juice)
  7. Sip, enjoy & give me your blessing 😋

Don’t add ginger here, this is exclusively mint chai with a splash of lemon.

I hope you enjoy my recipe. 🙂 let me know your thoughts below !!!

 

I’m taking my blog to next level with blogchatter’s my friend Alexa #thesiriusgramwrites

Photo credits:Pixabay.com

my ginger chai

My kadak ginger chai

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CHAI is life! & a good cup of chai can fix your day! I know we all have our own way of making chai, but of all different kinda chai recipes, this recipe never disappoints.

I prefer using mixture tea! the one that I get from the local store is honestly the best, I don’t know where to find it online, but, you can use the below chai powders.

  1. If you live in India, Lasa Lamsa Mix
  2. If you reside outside India, you should try Wagh Bakri ( for some reason I liked the exported tea powder better when compared to what I found here locally)
Image of a glass of tea in street market

Step 1: 

  • Take 1.5 cups of water
  • add 1 tsp tea powder (I prefer mixture tea)
  • grate 1 medium piece of ginger and add it here
  • cook until you see 3/4th of water remains. 

Step 2:

  • Boil 1/2 cup milk with 1 inch cinnamon stick and sugar as per taste. 
  • when the milk boils, lower the flame & strain the 3/4th cup of black tea here
  • let it cook on low flame for 2-3 minutes. 

Your Ginger Chai is ready!!!! 🙂

P.S. Please use whole milk in your chai (in case you use skim milk or low fat milk, follow the below recipe!)

  • in a pan, add 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup water
  • add sugar, 3/4th tsp tea powder, 1 inch finely chopped ginger
  • cook it on high flame till the milk boils & on medium flame till the quantity reduces to 3/4th cup.
  • Strain & enjoy your garam chai

You can switch ginger with cardamom for cardamom chai, you can add no masala for regular tea. My personal fav is ginger , hence, sharing my fav here! 

biryani

My Biryani Recipe

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There are many ways to make delicious Hyderabadi Biryani! Here, I share with you the one which works for me.  (We call it Pakki Aakhni ki Biryani!)

Step 1: 

Rice Prep:

Take 2 cups (750 grams) basmati rice, wash it three times & let it soak in water at least for 30 minutes. 

Aakhni Prep:

Step 2:

In a bowl, take 1.5 kg chicken, wash it well.

Add :

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste, salt, 2 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp garam masala powder, 2 tbsp green chili paste (in a jar add 2 fist green chilies & grind them) – mix well.

Lastly, add 3 tbsp curd & mix well. Marinate it for at least 40 minutes.

Step 3:

  1. In a pan, take 6-7 medium sized onions, finely chop it & deep fry it until it turns light brown ( keep aside some fried onion for garnishing)
  2. Add marinated chicken from the step 2 & mix well
  3. Cover the lid & let it cook until the chicken is completely cooked & the water evaporates. 

Your Aakhni is ready!

Step 4: 

In a Bagona/patila add 4.5 glasses of water (use the same glass you did for measuring the rice)

Here, you will add whole garam masala:

  • 1.5big sticks of cinnamon, 
  • 6-7 cardamom,
  • 4-5 clove, 
  • 1.5 tsp Shahzeera (Royal Cumin) please do not confuse it for black caraway or caraway seeds. 
  • 1 bunch of mint leaves
  • 1 bunch of cilantro/ coriander
  • 10-12 whole green chilies.
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

Cover it with a lid & let the water boil. 

Once you see the water boiling, add the soaked rice and mix well.

Let it cook until the rice is 3/4th cooked & strain the water. 

Step 5:

Your rice is almost ready, your chicken, mutton is ready, now we will set layers!

  • Take a big bagona: add a layer of your chicken akhni, add a layer of rice, squeeze half a lemon, add 1tbsp ghee (clarified butter) – make sure you evenly spread out everything. 
  • Add the rest of the chicken akhni, add the remaining rice, squeeze half a lemon, add 1 tbsp ghee.
  • heat 1/4 cup of milk with 1 pinch of saffron, mix well 
  • add the saffron to the layers, add fried onion (the one we keep aside from step 3), freshly chopped coriander/ cilantro & cover it with a lid.
  • Turn the stove on, let it cook n high flame for 5 minutes & 10 minutes on medium flame. 

Biryani is ready. ! While serving, make sure you mix all the layers well. Serve it with Dahi ki chutney!!!

Dahi ki chutney: In a jar add 1 cup curd, salt, black pepper, 1 green chili, few mint leaves, finely chopped 2 tbsp coriander & grind it. Add finely chopped 1/4th cucumber & 1/4th onion. Voila its ready!

I hope you enjoy the recipe!  

Penne Pasta

My Pasta Recipe

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Doing a few things differently, you can make 3 types of pastas! Intrigued? Follow the instructions below! & feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Step 1:

Pasta Prep:

  • Boil 2 cups pasta  with 1/2 tbsp oil & salt until its 3/4th done (I generally use Penne Pasta).
  • Strain the hot water from Pasta (store 1/2 cup aside for step 4)

  • Immediately add cold water to your pasta to ensure it doesn’t stick together. 

Boil Veggies or Chicken:

  •  Boil chicken with salt and pepper powder (or)
  • semi cook broccoli, carrots or veggies of your choice.

Step 2:

Red Sauce:

  • Grind 7 medium sized tomatoes in a blender;
  • In a pan: add 2 tbsp oil, add 3 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf;
  • Add tomato puree, 3 tbsp of butter & cook it on medium flame.
  • After 5 minutes, add 2tsp red chili sauce, salt, 1/2 tsp chili powder & let it cook on low flame for next 10 minutes.

The longer you cook & stir, the creamier your sauce gets!

Step 3:

White Sauce

  • In a hot pan, add 3-4tbsp butter, add 1.5 tbsp all purpose flour & mix well until you the color changes to slightly brown color.
  • Slowly add 3/4th cup of milk and continue to stir the sauce,
  • Let it cook for about a minute, add salt, black pepper
  • Add 1/4th tsp of rosemary & oregano
  • Let it cook for 2-3 minutes, voila, your white sauce is ready.

Step 4

  • As your white sauce gets ready, add your red sauce to the white saucepan, mix well & let it cook;
  • Add your boil veggies or chicken here & mix well;
  • Add your boiled pasta
  • Add the 2/4th cup of pasta water (saved from step 1).  
  • Add 1-2 slices of cheese & cover it with the lid, cook for about 3-5 minutes. 
  • Turn off the stove, mix well & serve. 

Please note:

For white sauce pasta, follow step 1, 3 & 4
For red sauce Pasta, follow step 1,2 & 4. 
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Green Sprouts Salad

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Bowl full of high protein and fiber!!!

To make green sprout salad, take the below ingredients in a bowl and mix well
• Semi- boiled green sprouts 1 cup
• 1 chopped cucumber 
• 1 finely chopped carrot
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1/2 finely chopped red onion
• 1 chopped green chili
• Juice squeezed from 1/2 lemon
• Salt & pepper

Making your own sprouts is cost effective and organic 🙂 – follow the steps here to diy

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My FAVOURITE salad

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Take a large bowl, then add the following ingredients. You can store this in an airtight container and enjoy it throughout the day!

  • 1 cup chickpeas (boiled, make sure you add salt when you boil) OR boiled chicken with black pepper and salt OR both
  • 3 chopped tomatoes
  • 1 chopped cucumber
  • 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro aka Coriander
  • Bunch of lettuce OR spinach
  • 1/2 finely chopped onion
  • 1 finely chopped apple
  • 1/2 pomegranate
  • Handful Walnuts
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1/2 – 1 Lemon
  • 1 tsp olive oil (optional)
  • Honey (optional)

I swear by this recipe! Where I come from, people love to eat meat and are not plant lovers – they loved this recipe! Give it a try, I hope you enjoy it.

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Make your plate green!

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Having a balanced meal is very important, however, after a long, tiring day, when you make your food plate & have everything on your plate ~ carbs, protein, fat but you realize you are missing the greens?? What do you do?? Perhaps, park it for the next meal because you are too lazy to chop some fresh veggies.?

I’m gonna share a super quick and super green hack with you. If it wasn’t for my sister, I would have never tried it, loved it and posted it on my blog..
Take 2 hand full of spinach (baby spinach if available) toss it in a bowl, throw some lime juice, pepper & salt. Voila!!!!

Here is your portion of super rich green portion with minimal efforts 😉 this goes with anything & everything!!!

Please give it a shot & let me know if you like it.

~Saher